AirstreamTour: June 2013

We're back in Seal Beach, CA waiting impatiently for the little one to arrive. Jess is due next week and we're all on pins and needles, especially Jess!

We spent the past two weeks at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, so Heinz could use the base wood hobby shop to make a circus-themed toy box for "Thunder" (as you might recall, that's the current nickname for the baby since Jess and Pete want the sex to be a surprise). The box is coming along beautifully. It still needs sanding, detail work, sanding, and more sanding, and varnishing, and sanding, before it's complete, but we'll be here for a month, so he has plenty of time if he doesn't spend it all oohing and cooing at the baby. I'll be sure to post a photo when it's done.

Side One is ready.

Ready for sanding and sanding and sanding...

In the meantime, I was working on a menagerie to ride in it. I originally planned to make around four stuffed animals to go along with the box, but those little guys are addictive. I finally decided I'd better call a halt to the production line after a total of eight, or you wouldn't be able to find Thunder amongst all the animals! What a shame, I've still got lots of fantastic patterns begging to be knitted.

My "Gang of Eight", lots more fun than the one in Congress.

We got to Edwards with visions of time in the wood hobby shop for Heinz, a little knitting and reading for me, and evenings spent seeing old friends from our years assigned to the base, roaming the area taking great photos of the desert, and checking out favorite restaurants from years past. Ah, to quote Steinbeck, "the best laid plans of mice and men." We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Golden Cantina, ate the carnitas and grilled fish (our favorite dishes), drank good margaritas, enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, and woke up the next morning feeling like an army had marched through our stomachs. Probably coincidence, especially since it was w-a-a-a-y longer than food poisoning usually takes to kick in, but none-the-less we stayed sick for just under week. Cancelled: 2 dinners with friends, 1 motorcycle ride up the Angeles Crest, several days in the wood hobby shop, and several great photo ops for sunsets. Sigh...

But we finally recovered and made up for lost time with our friends fitting in dinners, a BBQ, that motorcycle ride, visits at the rig and lunches. Included in all events were interesting conversation, lots of laughs, and a whole lot of catching up with each other. We also fit in a dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant, The Big Tuna where we totally pigged out on all-you-can-eat sushi. We could barely waddle out at the end of the meal, but man, was it good!

We pulled into Edwards a few days into the wildfire down by Santa Clarita (about 50 miles south). There was a smoke layer all across the Antelope Valley which was making for some fabulous sunsets. Heinz and I went out to capture one a couple of days before we got sick.

Smoke layer over the Antelope Valley from the Santa Clarita fire.

Smoke layers make beautiful sunsets. Those are the Tehachapi Mountains in the distance.

This spring was a banner time for the Joshua trees. Scientists aren't sure why, but the trees all through the Mojave Desert (the only place they grow) bloomed in a spectacular manner this year. Almost all of the trees bloomed (unusual) and the blooms were bigger and showier than usual. Some biologists think that the blooms are a stress response by the trees to climate change, specifically to much less rain. The Mojave Desert normally receives between two to five inches of rain a year, but this year it received less than an inch. The theory is that the trees are producing more flowers, and thus more seeds, in an effort to survive with less rain. Biologists are hoping that it works, because the iconic trees are in decline. The Joshua Tree National Park's Wickenburg study site has not seen a new Joshua tree emerge in almost 30 years and a number of trees in the study have died due to changing climate conditions.

Joshua tree blossoms.

Joshua tree.

Large Joshua tree.

(Photo taken several years ago while stationed at Edwards AFB.)

Edwards AFB is a fascinating place. It's on the western edge of the Mojave Desert in the Antelope Valley, a high desert region. The history is amazing. There have been more major milestones in flight here than anywhere else in the world. Here's a "brief" list of some of the history and more spectacular flights that have occurred over the skies of Edwards AFB's 301,000 acres.

1933: established as Muroc Bombing and Gunnery Range serving the Army Air Corps as a training site for bomber and fighter pilots.
1942: becomes the test flight center for experimental aircraft, using the dry lake beds as runways.

Bell XP-59A Airacomet, first experimental aircraft to fly at the base.
Lockheed XP-80 Shooting Star flown.

Bell XP-59A Airacomet, first US jet powered airplane. (photo courtesy of Aviation History Museum)

1946: Rocket powered Bell X-1 flights begin.
1947: Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier in the X-1.

Bell X-1 (photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

1949: Muroc renamed Edwards AFB in honor of Capt. Glen Edwards who had been killed in a test flight of the YB-49 Flying Wing the previous year.
1951: base designated the USAF Flight Test Center and the Test Pilot School moved from Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio to Edwards AFB.

D-5-58-11 Douglas Skyrocket reaches Mach 1.88 (1,180 mph) and a peak altitude of 74,494 feet.

1956: Bell X-2 reaches 126,200 feet.
1962: X-15 reaches 314,000 feet.
1967: X-15A-2 reaches Mach 6.72 (4,520 mph), the highest speed ever by a manned airplane.
Late 1960's: SR-71 Blackbird routinely cruises at Mach 3 and altitudes over 80,000 feet.

SR-71 Blackbird on static display at the Edwards Aviation Museum.

1970's: F-15 Eagle and F-16 Falcon developed and tested.
1981: becomes alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle. (I got to see two shuttle landings during our years at Edwards AFB, what an amazing sight!)

Space Shuttle Discovery on the runway after landing at Edwards AFB, August 9, 2005.

(I took this shot at the time.)

1980's: B-2 flying wing bomber developed and tested.
1990's: Global Hawk and other unmanned airplanes developed and tested, along with testing of the CV-22 helicopter and the F-22 fighter.

I have always said that it was fascinating to drive around the area and watch the "toys in the sky". During our years at Edwards it wasn't unusual to see folks pulling off the road to stop and watch the action for a few minutes.

Do you remember hearing sonic booms as a kid? How many years has it been since you've heard one? At Edwards it is an almost daily event!

Well, it's time to get out and enjoy another beautiful day in sunny southern California, so I'll leave you with some old photos of friends of the day from our time being stationed at Edwards AFB.

Hummingbird nest under construction in the bushes by the house. It was the size of a small teacup and made of plant fibers, spider silk, feathers, lint balls from the dryer outlet, and small twigs.

Day 5 after construction began.

Day 10.

Day 15.

Day 19

The next day they were gone and the nest was empty - dirty, but empty.

We were in Fairfield, CA until the end of the month. But, we weren't idle and took advantage of the myriad opportunities for entertainment in the area.

The day we arrived back in the area from Yosemite we set up in a rush and Ryan, Heinz and I hopped into the car and headed for San Francisco. Since we only had an afternoon to spend we drove around a bit to show Ryan some of the sights and ended up at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. Once again, the cameras were out and Ryan and I were out of control.

The historical roots of the Japanese Tea Garden were planted in 1894 when it was established to showcase a Japanese Village for the California Midwinter International Exposition. Today it is known as the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States. The garden was expanded after the fair by a Japanese landscape designer named Makoto Hagiwara. He constructed a large public area, as well as a small private setting for his family to live in while he looked after the garden. It was eventually expanded to approximately 5 acres, exceeding the originally allotted space of one acre. Hagiwara and his family remained the caretakers of the garden from 1895 until 1942 when they were interned in a concentration camp with other Japanese Americans. The garden's name was then changed to "The Oriental Tea Garden." During the war, many of the beautiful arrangements were destroyed or removed, sculptures vanished, and many other plants died from lack of care.

In 1952, the garden was officially renamed the Japanese Tea Garden, and in 1953, a 9,000 pound Japanese offering called the Lantern of Peace was placed on the premises in an gesture to ease the tensions associated with the past. Over the years the garden has been restored to its former glory.

Lantern of Peace

Today, the garden is a peaceful, green oasis in the middle of a bustling city, worthy of a visit if you are ever in San Francisco.

Irises in bloom

Peony

Ryan and me along a garden path.

Buddha

Peony placed on a plaque.

Azalea blossom.

Wisteria draping an overhang. (Photo courtesy of Ryan)

Following the garden we were all getting rather peckish...read as Hungry!! So off we went to Berkeley and one of Heinz and my favorite hole-in-the-wall places. Kabana on University is one of those gems you almost hate to share for fear that there won't be a table available when you arrive. It's Pakistani food at its best, flavorful and spicy, without burning your tongue off. Pakistan is the home of the tandoor oven and many of Kabana's specialities are tandoori recipes. We decided to try three different entrees and share. Heinz went with his usual Chicken Tikka Masala and Ryan chose Goat Curry. I decided to change up from my usual Lamb Boti and try the Lamb Chops which were the special of the day. The order came with 3 chops and we each took one and were blown away. The chops were melt-in-your-mouth tender, and had a wonderful spice mix and marinade. In fact, they were so good we ordered more at the end of the meal as "dessert." I asked the owner what was in the marinade and he said, "Oh, there's too many spices to tell you." Immediately, I thought, Rats - he doesn't wanna share! Wrong again, he continued with telling us that he buys the spice mix from the Indian Spice Market a block down the street. In fact, he then tapped Ryan on the shoulder and said, "Follow me", looked at me and told me to "give him money - give him $2". He then proceeded to take Ryan outside, pointed out the shop, called the owner of the spice market (they were closed, but he tried to get the owner to come open up, unsuccessfully). Then came back in and apologized that he couldn't get us spices that night, but that the store would open at 9:30 the next day. Try that at your local chain restaurant! (And yes, we stopped by the next day for spices!)

Ryan and the restaurant owner trying to get the Spice Market owner to open up with me laughing about the whole thing.

We were up early the next morning to drop Ryan off at the airport. It was a ton of laughs and good times while he was with us and we left him with a huge grin on his face. Tash reported that he returned home full of stories, and the grin hadn't left his face.

Over the past few days we've gone back into the city a couple of times. We've been checking out the local scene rather than the tourist spots and found several gems.

Tartine Bakery on Guerro Street has been reviewed in periodicals from coast to coast including Elle Magazine, The New York Times, Sunset Magazine, Bon Appetit, and Travel and Leisure. The hard part is finding the place. The sign on the building is small, but the line of people out the door and down the block is your clue that you're in the right place. Stepping indoors you are confronted with the next problem...what to order. The display cases flaunt a stunning parade of baked goods, breads, croissants, tarts, bread pudding, cakes, etc, etc, etc. The owners are several time winners of James Beard awards as well as other equally prestigious baking awards. Using only local ingredients and organic whenever possible they bake up great goodies.

Line out the door and down the block? This must be the place!

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Fruit tart and morning bun, with a chocolate croissant in the background.

That same day we wandered over to Flora Grubb Gardens, a nursery located on Jerrold Ave. in an industrial area of the city. The nursery has been reviewed in Living, Sunset Magazine and San Francisco Weekly to name just a few. It has been voted "Best Nursery" for several years running in SF - I could certainly see why. The place was filled with unique designs for container gardening and small area gardens, perfect for a city setting. There are no stalls of seedlings lined up here. The plants are scattered, in pots, in cascades, even hanging off rusty bicycles from the ceiling. In addition, they had many unique plants that you don't find in the typical nursery such as miniature thyme, bay trees, unusual succulents and a wide variety of air plants. The nursery also has a small coffee bar, so everywhere you wander on the grounds, there are folks sitting on the locally made lawn furniture, and in nooks and crannies, sipping coffee and chatting amid the terrific plants.

Now that's a planter!

Relaxing vs. shopping, hard to choose.

Leaving the nursery we were getting a touch hungry, not enough for a full meal, but enough to want something. In addition it was cool and windy. The perfect weather for a bowl of soup, even better, Vietnamese Pho. So we opened a phone, pulled up local Vietnamese restaurants and picked the Jasmine Garden on 14th St. Good choice, Heinz!! I got the spicy Hue Noodle Soup, thinly sliced beef with infused lemon grass beef broth and Heinz got the seafood Hu Teiu Hai San, shrimp, calamari, scallops, rice noodles with chicken broth. Warming and filling on a cold summer day!

Delicious bowls of pho.

We've also enjoyed meals with friends in the area. All of which involved good food, good wine/beer, and many, many, many stories and lots of laughter.

Dinner with Connie and Bill, trying out their backyard pizza oven.

We fell in love with the pizza oven - now the only

problem is how to fit one of these guys into the RV!

Checking out the live music at Swabbie's outside Sacramento.

Scott telling a story.

Linda singing along with the band.

We tried crabbing for the first time last week also. Crabbing in California is free if you're on a pier, but you need a license if you are on the beach. Seemed a no brainer to us, so we made a stop at Gus's Discount Tackle (should be a city landmark) in San Francisco to pick up the necessary equipment and instructions, then a brief drive down the coast to the pier in Pacifica. The weather was pretty nippy (54 degrees and 18 mph winds) so I didn't last long and headed back to the car after an hour or so. But Heinz hung in there like the trooper he is and it paid off. So did his making friends with a Filipino gentleman just down the pier from him. After watching Heinz not catching anything for quite a while the stranger took pity on him and told him he was doing everything wrong, from the traps he had (wrong), to the bait he was using (not enough), to the way he was casting (against the law and a $365 fine if caught). He then took Heinz to a friend who sold him the right traps, tied them on to the line, stuffed them with his own bait, and voila - within 1-2 casts, Heinz was pulling in his first Dungeness crab. Heinz caught a total of 12 crabs, but only 5 were large enough to be keepers. We rushed home, and I tried to duplicate the roasted crab and garlic noodle recipes from one of our favorite restaurants - Crustaceans.

The owner is a fountain of knowledge, even if the Filipinos weren't impressed with the traps.

Getting ready to start.

Crabbers on the pier.

First crab on the line, unfortunately he bailed on us before he got all the way up - what a quitter!

Are you sure he's not a keeper???

(he was about the size of a quarter)

Heinz never got his name, but his advice was spot-on!

Ah, got one!

Just one more cast...

Yes, he's a keeper - schaweet!

Wild hair and that twinkle in his eye - a good day crabbing.

(Can you tell that it was windy and cold out there?)

Par-boiled and waiting to go into the oven.

It just struck me how much the top of that crab looks like Heinz's forehead!

(Man, it can really hurt when you get hit in the arm!)

Garlic roasted crab, almost as good as at Crustacean's.

A couple of days later we woke up early, sat silently sipping our morning coffee/tea, watched a little news, asked each other what we wanted to do that day and simultaneously said "Crabbing!" So off we went back down to Pacifica. We set up our poles, stuffed our traps full of anchovies and squid and tossed them in. It took awhile for either of us to catch anything, in fact, another fisherman gave me a "sympathy crab" so I'd have something to take home. Then suddenly I pulled up a nice sized keeper...and kept pulling them up (ok, so it was 5 keeper crabs over a period of several hours along with several too small to keep) but Heinz was busy catching...nada.

My first ever crab to catch!

My second crab, not quite big enough. That's a crab trap filled with squid and anchovies that he's laying on.

But Heinz finally got his luck to change and began to pull his weight, pulling in 4 nice sized keepers. We hung out long enough to give the rush hour traffic time to settle down, then headed home. All told, we hauled home 9 crabs, cooked and picked them, putting a little over a pound of crabmeat in the freezer.

You're not really going to throw me in that pot, are you?

The day's catch.

The next morning we crawled out of bed at the ungodly hour of 0500 to head back down to Pacifica for yet another day. I dropped Heinz off to try crabbing again while I drove further south to Moss Beach to go tidepooling at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. Unfortunately most of the area was off-limits due to the harbor seals calving. But I poked around a bit, took a few pictures and generally enjoyed the morning.

Sea Anemone

Caught out of the water.

Caulerpa seaweed.

Tidepooling on Moss Beach.

I rejoined Heinz only to find that he'd caught nothing worth keeping. He was even willing to throw back the headache from the sun and wind, but couldn't quite shake it. Therefore, we packed it in for the day and headed home. Kind of silly of us to get up so early after getting to bed late the night before, but we were greedy for more crabs.

We left Fairfield on Saturday morning and headed south. Our destination was Edwards AFB in Rosamond. It's a base in the Mojave Desert where Heinz was once stationed. His goal here is to use the wood hobby shop to make a circus wagon toy box for the soon-to-arrive grandchild.

On the way down we stopped at Succulent Gardens nursery in Castroville. This is a nursery that is dedicated to low-water plants, selling over 700 varieties of succulents and cacti. I read an interview with the owner in Sunset Magazine recently in which he said that he wanted to work near the coast where he could surf during his off hours and was fascinated with succulents since college when he first saw a cactus farm. Therefore he talked a friend into going into business together selling cacti and succulents along with houseplants. Gradually they stopped the houseplants and concentrated on low-water plants only. Every September the nursery hosts a Succulent Extravaganza, when over 1,500 people (and growing larger each year) satisfy their succulent manias.